Robert Peel

:{{about|the British Prime Minister|other people named Robert Peel|Robert Peel (disambiguation)}}

Whigs Take Power

The lower classes in England at that time, however, were in a passion for reform, and Catholic Emancipation was only one of the ideas in the air. As the conservative Tory ministry refused to bend on other issues, they were swept out of office in 1830 in favour of the Whigs. The following few years were extremely turbulent, but eventually enough reforms were passed that King William IV felt confident enough invite the Tories again to form a ministry in succession to those of Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne in 1834. Peel was selected as Prime Minister, though was in Italy at the time, so Wellington acted as a caretaker for the three weeks in November and December it took Peel to return.

Related Topics:
Whig - King William IV - Lord Grey - Lord Melbourne

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This new Tory Ministry was a minority government, however, and depended on Whig goodwill for its continued existence. As his statement of policy at the general election of January 1835, Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto, the document which is considered the point at which the Tories became the Conservative Party. In it, he pledged that the Conservatives would endorse modest reform, but the Whigs instead formed a compact with Daniel O'Connell's Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills. Eventually Peel's ministry resigned out of frustration, and the Whigs under Lord Melbourne returned to power.

Related Topics:
Tamworth Manifesto - Conservative Party

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In May 1839, he was offered another chance to form a government, this time by the new monarch, Queen Victoria. However, this too would have been a minority government and Peel felt he needed a further sign of confidence from his Queen. Lord Melbourne had been Victoria's confidant for several years, and many of the higher posts in Victoria's household were held by the female wives and relatives of Whigs; there was some feeling that Victoria had allowed herself to be too closely associated with the Whig party. Peel therefore asked that some of this coterie be dismissed and replaced with their Conservative counterparts, provoking the so-called Bedchamber Crisis. Victoria refused to change her household, and despite pleadings from the Duke of Wellington, relied on assurances of support from Whig leaders. Peel refused to form a government, and the Whigs returned to power.

Related Topics:
Queen Victoria - Bedchamber Crisis

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